IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh greets ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal during the groundbreaking ceremony of the AMNS India steel plant at the greenfield site in Nakkapalli on Monday. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Government of Andhra Pradesh is monitoring 760 projects and several of them will be started on priority basis. According to IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh, a number of launches will take place in April.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the foundation stone laying ceremony of the ArcelorMittal/Nippon Steel (AM/NS) steel plant on a green field at Rajayyapeta in Anakapalli district, Mr. Lokesh said that the AM/NS steel plant and the Google data center were just the beginning.
“As chairman of the Group of Ministers (GoM) for creating 20 thousand jobs, I am involved in this massive exercise. We will see many launches in April. As far as investment is concerned, out of ₹ 100 crore in India, Andhra Pradesh is getting more than 25% of it. The state is proving 22 industrial and manufacturing clusters and three economic regions in Timarupati, Ayakrupati,” said Mr.
Composed by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and chaired by Mr. Lokesh, the GoM is designed to attract and facilitate industrial investment and cluster-based industrial growth.
Under this initiative, the state is developing three economic regions in Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Tirupati and master plans are ready for them, according to Mr. Lokesh.
The central government is said to be increasing huge budgets for this.
In addition, the government is creating glass clusters across the state. “There was no glass cluster in India and now we have one. All types of glass will be manufactured in AP, which is unique,” Mr. Lokesh said.
Major industry players in this segment such as Hindustan National Glass, Saint Gobain, Triveni Glass and Matrix Glass Industries are among those setting up facilities in various parts of Andhra Pradesh and are at various stages of development.
To support potential growth, the government is also supporting the necessary infrastructure. Tenders for PPP container terminals and ports will be issued soon. “The state is keen on speed of doing business. We are fast-tracking all projects. Bhogapuram International Airport will be completed by the end of June,” Mr. Lokesh added.
He further said that state finances are strained due to the mismanagement of the previous government and efforts are underway to set up processes to ensure financial stability, he said.
Regarding the IT sector, Mr. Lokesh opined that a lot needs to be done in the state. “We cannot match other states in IT today, but we want to be one of the top five in the coming days. We have Google Data Center, TCS, Infosys and other projects here. We expect rapid growth. We are looking for opportunities amid AI challenges,” he said.
AP Government is setting up Global Capability Centers (GCC) in a big way to meet the requirements of industry. To address the skill gap, the government has launched an AI portal, Naipunyam.
Published – 23 March 2026 21:49 IST
